Saturday, 6 September 2014

Falafel Kitchen, Crwys Road, Cardiff review

After hearing great things about The Falafel Café on Woodville Road, I was gutted when they closed before I ever had a chance to visit.

Thankfully, the closure wasn’t permanent; more of a hiatus.

After 8 months of hunting for new (and improved) premises, the owner has relocated to Crwys Road and renamed the business Falafel Kitchen.

Most importantly, it’s every bit as frigging good as I’d heard the previous incarnation was.

The daytime menu is simple yet focused – falafel, sabich (fried aubergine), chicken schniztel or spicy omelette are all served in either pitta or a baguette with houmous and salad.

In the evening there’s a slightly more involved menu featuring shakshuka, shawarmas and mezze platters.

However, with a name like the Falafel Café there’s only going to be one star of the show…

We both ordered the falafel (£4.50).

Pitta bread, white for me and wholemeal for Mrs G, were both warm and pillowy.

A huge quantity of salad (which we helped ourselves to from the salad bar) featured a fresh range of shredded carrot and cabbage, finely diced tomato and cucumber, cleansing gherkins and pitted olives.

The main event, a generous handful of falafel, were moulded and fried before our eyes. Golden globes of herby deep fried chickpea goodness, they were epic.

A good smear of silky smooth houmous and a couple of generous glugs of nutty tahini (it’s in one of the unmarked bottles on the salad bar) completed the masterpiece.

I washed mine down with a can of pop whilst Mrs ordered an energising pot of cardamom infused Greek coffee.

Update 01/12/2016:
Falafel Kitchen's larger dishes are just as tasty and cracking value as their pitta pockets.

A falafel and shawarma plate (£8) saw tender spiced chicken and heroically good falafel joined by pillowy pitta, crisp fries, fragrant rice and a good dollop of super smooth hummus filled with creamy tahini.

You can also help yourself to a plate from the salad bar. Perky gherkins, sesame seed dressed carrots and cabbage and cucumber salads were all on the nail.

About Gourmet Gorro

My name is Ed Gilbert. I'm an indiscriminate glutton who enjoys a late night doner as much as a bit of posh. I like to think I can occasionally share a valid opinion about food when my judgement hasn't been clouded by the meat red mist. I'm a Cardiff based Geordie who's spent time living in Newcastle, London, Chester and Cambridge. I mostly write reviews of restaurants in Cardiff, South Wales.

I use a Lumix LX5 camera. All photos are my own unless otherwise stated.